‘The Classics Never Go Out Of Style’ – Baltazar And Franco’s Little Archie Is Kind Of Perfect

by Staff

First off, Art Baltazar signed his cover for this one-shot “Art-chie Baltazar”. That should be a pretty good indicator of the validity of this argument. So, the standout and remarkable team of Art Balthazar and Franco have given the Baltazar and Franco treatment to a number of characters owned by publishers, alongside of course their own Aw Yeahcomics. And those have universally been delightful. The unexpected characters, like Hellboy, are that much more fun. Turning these characters into technicolor tykes and walking through their worlds with a humor-based slant is not only beautiful to look at, but enchanting for all ages of readers.

But when you see a team up like this–between Baltazar and Franco and Archie Comics, something just feel so right that the only draw back is the phrase “one-shot”. But start with the one-shot. Stay, we hope, for a series?

Here are some of the covers by Art Baltazar, Ryan Jampole, and Asami Matsumura for the one-shot coming up on March 29th:

And the thing is, the whole world of Archie just works in this format–perhaps because the traditional world of Archie Comics has always been stylized and reveled in that stylization, including color work. But there’s something deeper than that which works–perhaps the fact that the story of Archie’s life has always situational, with events popping up on a daily basis that suggest avenues for exploration. And Baltazar and Franco have done that before on their other books, and do it very well here with Archie.

Make sure not to miss this one-shot special–it has a unique synergy at work between art and subject matter. And it’s a brand new way to engage young readers, too.

Here’s a look at the interior pages on the Little Archie one-shot:

The Little Archie one-shot is currently listed in Previews right here.